Three-time Academy Award-nominee Sigourney Weaver is a true legend of the sci-fi genre, having appeared in the likes of Ghostbusters, Avatar, and the first four Alien movies, which she led as the iconic Ellen Ripley prior to the franchise being revived with Ridley Scott's Prometheus in 2012.
Weaver also played the villain in Netflix's The Defenders series, but her Marvel Cinematic Universe stint was short-lived when her character was prematurely killed-off.
Fans have often wondered if Weaver might ever take a trip to the Galaxy Far, Far Away at some point, and last year, the trades reported that she was in talks for a key role in Lucasfilm's The Mandalorian and Grogu.
During a recent interview with Deadline, Weaver confirmed that she had signed on for the movie.
"I’m playing a role in The Mandalorian & Grogu [which will be directed by Jon Favreau]. I got to meet Grogu for the first time the other day. I’m filming that before I go to London for The Tempest at the end of the year."
Weaver didn't reveal any details on her character, but The Hot Mic's Jeff Sneider claims to know who she'll play in the movie.
Just in case this is something the studio plans to keep under wraps, here's your spoiler warning.
Apparently, Weaver will have a fairly minor role as a New Republic Colonel named Bishop. As any Aliens fan worth their salt will be aware, this is almost certainly a direct nod to Lance Henriksen's synthetic (sorry, artificial person) character in James Cameron's sequel.
We have heard that Weaver will play a villain, so perhaps this Colonel Bishop will turn out to be a traitor to the cause.
Sneider also confirmed previous rumors that Jon Favreau did direct some of the action remotely for about three weeks after contracting COVID last year.
Favreau is set to direct and produce the big-screen spin-off, with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and chief creative officer Dave Filoni also serving as producers.
Pedro Pascal will return as Din Djarin, but the extent of his involvement (he may only voice the character for the majority of his scenes) in unclear, as he was busy shooting Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps when the Star Wars movie was filming. The Bear's Jeremy Allen White is set to play Rotta the Hutt (presumably via motion capture).
The Clone Wars bounty hunter, Embo, is also rumored to be the main villain, but this has yet to be confirmed.
The Mandalorian & Grogu is set to hit theaters on May 22, 2026